Political Quotes

“This week I introduced legislation to prohibit the net increase of federally owned land in the Virgin Islands National Park Service on St. John. The Virgin Islands National Park boundary encompasses nearly two-thirds of the island of St. John. Within the park boundary, there is both federally owned and privately owned land. There is a finite amount of land for the residents of St. John who are already confronting housing shortages. This legislation takes the necessary steps to prevent an increase in land owned by the park. This legislation prevents any net increase of federally owned land in the park. Individuals and entities would still be able to donate or exchange land with the park, but if the Virgin Islands National Park acquires any land, an equal acreage of land must be conveyed out of Federal ownership. The legislation includes stringent guidelines to ensure the park does not utilize bureaucratic processes to cause excessive delays. When the park elects to sell Federal land to avoid an increase in net acreage, it must offer the land for sale within a year at fair market value. Six months after the land is first offered for sale, if it is not under contract or sold, then the price is reduced by 10 percent each month. This legislation addresses the concerns I hear consistently from Virgin Islanders about an ever-expanding presence of the park on St. John. The park has a responsibility as stewards and also as partners of the Virgin Islands.…”